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Misconceptions of the “Comic” Genre in Opera

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Misconceptions of the “Comic” Genre in Opera DOI: 10.31722/ejmd.584420 EJMD / 2019 (14), 239-248 OPERADA BİR TÜR OLARAK “KOMİK” KAVRAMINA İLİŞKİN YANILSAMALAR Misconceptions of the “Comic” Genre in Opera * Mehmet GİRGİN ** Ebru GÜNER CANBEY ÖZ Opera tarihi içerisinde İtalya’da opera seria ve opera buffa konusal ve yapısal farklılıklar gösteren iki farklı türdür. Bu iki ana tür arasından opera buffa, “gülünçlü (komik) opera” türü olarak nitelendirilmiş, uygulama ve stil açısından farklılıklar içererek ciddi üsluba karşıt olarak gelişen ve farklı ülkelerde farklı isimlerle tanımlanan operaların bu tür içine dâhil edildiği bir üst başlık haline gelmiştir. Öte yandan Fransa’da varlığını sürdüren “opéra comique (opera komik)” kavramının betimlediği tür, adında geçen “komik” sözcüğünden kaynaklı bir kavram kargaşası yaratmaktadır. Komik kelimesinin akıllarda “güldürü” çağrıştırmasına rağmen opéra comique (opera komik) türü içerisine giren birçok operanın “güldüren” nitelikte olmaması, kavram için açıklama yapılması ihtiyacını doğurmuştur. Bu çalışma gülünçlü (komik) opera kavramının altında toplanan farklı dillerdeki tanımlamaların yarattığı kavram kargaşasına ışık tutarak, 18. yüzyıldan günümüze kadar halen en çok tercih edilen opera türü olan opéra comique (opera komik) türünün anlaşılabilmesine fayda sağlamaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Opera, opera türleri, komik opera, opera buffa, opéra comique ABSTRACT In the history of opera, in Italy, opera seria and opera buffa are the two different opera genres that differ thematically and structurally. Of these two main genres, opera buffa has been described as “comic opera”, and has become a main title among the operas that are different in terms of practice and style are developed as opposed to the serious style and defined with different names in different countries are included. On the other hand, the genre defined as “opéra comique” in France creates a conceptual confusion due to the use of the word “comic”. Although the word comic evokes the concept of humour in minds, the fact that many operas included in opéra comique genre do not possess the characteristics of humour has created the need for an explanation of the concept. This study will help to better understand the opéra comique genre which is still the most popular opera genre since the 18th century, by shedding light on the conceptual confusion caused by the definitions in different languages made for the comic opera genre. Keywords: Opera, opera genres, comic opera, opera buffa, opéra comique * Derleme Makale - Geliş Tarihi/Received Date: 24.04.2019 Kabul Tarihi/Accepted Date: 11.06.2019 * Sorumlu Yazar/Corresponding Author: Öğr. Gör. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Devlet Konservatuvarı. [email protected], [email protected]. ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9989-1987 ** Doç. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Devlet Konservatuvarı. [email protected], [email protected]. ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000- 0002-4469-8119 Atıf/Citation: Girgin, M., Canbey, E.G.(2019) Operada Bir Tür Olarak “Komik” Kavramına İlişkin Yanılsamalar. Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance, (14), 239-248. 240 Girgin, Canbey Extended Abstract As the art of opera, which began in Italy and spread to different countries, each country’s own historical and social realities, experiences and characters were reflected nationally in opera works and this art gave birth to many different genres. Different names given to these genres in different languages create confusion among these genres which are related with each other although differentiated in terms of certain aspects. The first of these concepts is opera seria, which is directly related to the birth of the opera in Italy. To diminish the tragic, pessimistic and heavy influence within the opera seria, in the course of time, humor elements were added to the operas. The presentation of funny scenes without any connection to the main subject of Italian operas in the form of music was called “intermezzo”. Then, intermezzos undertook the role of making people laugh and entertain, however they became operas themselves after a while ago. In the 18th century, as these intermezzos continued to attract attention of the audience, these new works, which were classified as opera buffa, began to get widespread and be presented in Rome, and then also became widespread in Venice and Naples. Opera buffa is basically a farcical (comic) opera. There are lively melodies that can be quickly grasped, mostly based on major scales and fast bass parties that are structured in wide intervals, evoking comic emotions that are a customary in almost every act. The orchestra is a cheerful accompaniment to the performers. Operas are performed as two acts, and the acts end with the long final episodes where all the main characters come to the stage and perform together. To avoid interruptions in the cheerful atmosphere, a recitative has been adopted in a much closer manner to daily speech, called secco recitativo. It has become fashionable to accompany recitatives with harpsichord. Unlike the opera seria, the melodies are inspired by favorite and popular tracks of the day. The last twenty years of the 18th century and the first twenty years of the 19th century were the brightest periods of opera buffa. Although the concept of farcical (comic) opera describes opera buffa, it should be considered as a headline for the classification of the operas that are close to opera buffa due to the elements they contain, but differ in terms of practice and style and are defined with different names in different countries. However, this concept is not the same as the opéra comique (opera comic) in France. Although the word “comic” (comique in French) means humorous, funny, laughable in French, Turkish and the universal language English, for the evaluation of the opera comique genre in France, the meaning of the word comique which corresponds to “one that belongs to comedy” must be taken into account, as stated in the French Academy Dictionary (Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française). The word comique here represents the non-noble. Indeed, it emerges as an oppsosition to lyric tragedy (tragédie lyrique) which represents the noble. Although opéra comique was at first under the influence of opera buffa, it became a genre which did not carry ridiculous elements, such as Bizet’s “Carmen” opera. Therefore, the opéra comique is not a farcical (comic) opera like opera buffa. The opéra comique, which differed from opera buffa, is replaced by the operetta genre. In England, influenced by this interaction, the ballad opera genre emerged which features ballad tunes, folk songs, music from famous melodies of past or contemporary composers and dialogues. When ballad opera moves to Germany, singspiel is born. In addition, opera semiseria, which is a kind of opera which appeared in Italy in the second half of the 18th century and contains both farcical and serious elements, has become notable in this process. Basically, opera buffa, opera semiseria, ballad opera and singspiel are farcical (comic) operas. Unlike the operette in France, which can be confused with the opera buffa, there is also an opéra bouffe which depicts Offenbach's parody works. In addition to all these genres, there is the grand opera (grand opera) which can be Operada Bir Tür Olarak “Komik” Kavramına İlişkin Yanılsamalar 241 defined as the successor of opera seria in France and, opéra-ballet which utilized the elements of ballet (instrumental pieces, dances) and opera (recitative arias and choirs). With the studies carried out in terms of opera history, many operas are classified as genres and styles, and while these distinctions are made, operas are defined according to their textual and musical differences. In addition, when it is considered that opera, as in all branches of art, serves different social and political situations of countries in different cultures, terms used in terms of genre include similarities and variations. Examining the studies conducted on this subject, it was found that the different uses of “opéra comique” genre caused a confusion in many languages. It was understood that the fact that their usage in different countries in terms of both word and meaning content is also different in terms of style was overlooked, and it was understood that a mistake has been made by assuming that they are talking about the same “comic”. This study aims to diminish the confusion about the terms opera buffa, opera semiseria, opera comique, tragédie lyrique, grand-opera, opera bouffe, operet, balad opera and singspiel which are opera genres in Italy, France, England and Germany. contribute to new researches that will be carried out on this subject. Opera türleri arasındaki birçok operanın “komik opera” olarak değerlendirildiği görülmektedir. Peki, nedir komik opera? Kelimenin betimlediği türü anlayabilmek için öncelikle dilimizdeki anlamına bakmak yararlı olacaktır. Türk Dil Kurumu’nun resmi internet sitesi, komik sözcüğünün ilk anlamını “gülme duygusu uyandıran, güldürücü, gülünç” şeklinde, ikinci anlamını ise “güldürü oyuncusu” şeklinde vermektedir. Oxford İngilizce Sözlüğünde ise (Oxford Dictionary of English) ilk anlam olarak “gülmeye neden olan” ikinci anlam olarak da “komedi ya da komedi stili ile ilgili” şeklinde verilmiştir. Yine aynı sözlükte komedi sözcüğü “seyircileri güldürmeye yönelik şaka ve skeçlerden oluşan profesyonel eğlence” şeklinde anlatılmaktadır. Bu ikinci anlamın aslında Türkçe'deki tam karşılığının “güldürü” olduğunu rahatlıkla açıklamalar doğrultusunda söyleyebiliriz. Fransız Akademisi Sözlüğü’nde (Dictionnaire
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